Andrew Bird and Susanna and The Magical Orchestra
Posted: Thu May 19, 2005 11:28 pm
Two excellent concerts for me these last weeks with first the over-talented Andrew Bird accompanied by a super fine drummer only, his name is Kevin O'Donnel and you can admire his nice incisive touch all over Bird's great records. Watching Bird multitracking in real time his violin, pizzicato and/or bowed, his tremendous whistling and his glockenspiel while singing and still staying exciting musically is nothing less than mesmerizing. My quote below, being the entire lyrics of a song called "I", has been extended with multiple variations while the music and sounds were getting further and further away from the original. Just a pity Bird played a little too many of the less compelling songs of the last records and passed over the excellent "Action/Adventure" from the splendid and masterful piece of art that "Weather Systems" is, yes.
But, the already brilliant Andrew Bird's gig has been pitilessly shadowed in my memory by the extremely and rather unexpectedly overwhelming concert by Susanna and The Magical Orchestra. If you all know how fond I am of their album "List of light and buoys", I couldn't imagine them, and even her, as being especially memorable live. I was totally wrong! Susanna's voice has impressively evolved since the recording of the album and much traces of a certain pathos, annoying for some of you, has disappeared. Their version of Dolly Parton's "Jolene" simply erased their studio one, so much slower yet so much more intense. I have to say it was the first time I got tears in my eyes and diaphragm aches during a concert since Lisa Germano's awfully sad version of her "Cry Wolf" some 8 or 9 years ago. Besides, Susanna could dethrone Stina's abilities to cover songs for they dared and succeeded in injecting new life and soul to songs like Leonard Cohen's "That's no way to say goodbye" and "Halleluja", where Susanna simply threw away some redundant "hallelujas" without a wink of a doubt, and, o surprise, a very bare and slow and o so moving rendition of... "Love will tear us apart" where THE susanna reminded me of a higher-pitched Nico without erasing any well fixed gloomy bloom. Her dress, a little girl white thing decorated with two tiny bow ties under her neck and on her belly, and the very atmospheric if sometimes jazzy, for there were some improvisation, provided by the one man Magical Orchestra, gave that concert a very David Lynch's Twin Peaks period feel to the whole thing.
No kidding, Susanna Wallumrod could be the best woman singer I've ever seen on stage so far. Beware, she's just at the dawn of her career
But, the already brilliant Andrew Bird's gig has been pitilessly shadowed in my memory by the extremely and rather unexpectedly overwhelming concert by Susanna and The Magical Orchestra. If you all know how fond I am of their album "List of light and buoys", I couldn't imagine them, and even her, as being especially memorable live. I was totally wrong! Susanna's voice has impressively evolved since the recording of the album and much traces of a certain pathos, annoying for some of you, has disappeared. Their version of Dolly Parton's "Jolene" simply erased their studio one, so much slower yet so much more intense. I have to say it was the first time I got tears in my eyes and diaphragm aches during a concert since Lisa Germano's awfully sad version of her "Cry Wolf" some 8 or 9 years ago. Besides, Susanna could dethrone Stina's abilities to cover songs for they dared and succeeded in injecting new life and soul to songs like Leonard Cohen's "That's no way to say goodbye" and "Halleluja", where Susanna simply threw away some redundant "hallelujas" without a wink of a doubt, and, o surprise, a very bare and slow and o so moving rendition of... "Love will tear us apart" where THE susanna reminded me of a higher-pitched Nico without erasing any well fixed gloomy bloom. Her dress, a little girl white thing decorated with two tiny bow ties under her neck and on her belly, and the very atmospheric if sometimes jazzy, for there were some improvisation, provided by the one man Magical Orchestra, gave that concert a very David Lynch's Twin Peaks period feel to the whole thing.
No kidding, Susanna Wallumrod could be the best woman singer I've ever seen on stage so far. Beware, she's just at the dawn of her career
